Seagate Central: NAS made easy. Recovering Seagate HDD using programs

Seagate Central was presented at the beginning of the year at CES 2013, and now it is on sale in Ukraine. On the official website of the manufacturer, Central is listed in two categories of devices simultaneously - “ Entertainment systems" and "Network-attached storage system." So what is this - a toy for the whole family or a tool for system administrators? As our test showed, it’s both. Moreover, these seemingly poorly compatible qualities combine well in Central.

Perhaps the network drive is called Seagate Central for a reason and its name hints that it deserves a central place. Either way, Central can replace all the drives in your home and office or take over the duties of the main drive. It has such broad functionality and compatibility with other devices that it can be used in almost any environment. Except, perhaps, for such extreme options as a space station or a polar base in Antarctica. Although we are not sure about the base, perhaps he would have taken root there too.

Seagate can connect all computers in local network. Moreover, both PCs with Windows (XP and all newer versions are supported) and Mac OS. Central can also be accessed from smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS systems, as well as Kindle Fire tablets. In addition, you can connect various equipment to the drive that supports the DNLA standard: TVs, media players, game consoles etc. Well, remote access is possible from any computer on which a browser is installed (IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) and has access to the Internet. Let us remind you that external hard The drives are designed to be connected to a computer, and only some models provide remote access to the data they store.

The drive is available in three versions, which differ only in the capacity of the built-in hard drive (2, 3 and 4 TB) and cost (about 1,300, 1,600 and 2,300 hryvnia, respectively). The cost of a network drive is predictably higher than that of conventional external HDDs of the same size, but the additional payment comes for the extraordinary capabilities of Central. We received a version of the drive with a 4 TB disk - STCG4000100 (and inside it, apparently, is a Desktop HDD.15 hard drive). Our observations and conclusions about this model can be applied to the STCG3000100 and STCG2000100 with capacities of 2 and 3 TB.

In design and ergonomics, the Seagate Central drive resembles external stationary hard drives. At the same time, it is slightly larger and heavier than such HDDs: its dimensions are 21x14x4 cm and its weight is 1 kg. The Central looks like a heavyweight boxer, while the stationary and portable HDDs look like middleweight and lightweight boxers, respectively. Therefore, carrying a Central drive with you is not as convenient as portable hard drives (for example, Expansion models from Seagate). Although why carry it anywhere if you can use remote access anywhere in the world where there is Internet?

Seagate Central vs. Portable USB Drive

The drive housing has interesting feature. Heat from the hard drive is dissipated through many holes in the case. Upper and side panels made of fine mesh (it feels like metal to the touch). There are also holes on the bottom plastic panel. Thus, the manufacturer has resolved the issue of cooling the device without a built-in fan.

The perforated case ensures that the hard drive will operate in a comfortable climate

Central is designed for horizontal installation. It has four rubberized feet on the bottom panel. Thanks to them, the device does not slip even on the smooth surface of an office table. In addition, the legs create a small gap between the bottom surface of the drive and the surface on which it rests. This also contributes to better cooling of the drive.

The Reset button is used to reboot the drive in emergency situations

Like external hard drives, the Seagate Central case heats up during operation. Install exact temperature we could not (tracking programs HDD state out of business here). The heating of the case by tactile sensations is approximately 30-35 degrees (at a temperature of 25 degrees in the room). In general, you don't have to worry about overheating, just don't leave the device near the battery or tightly locked in a closet. We think that Seagate engineers thought it through and thoroughly tested everything before launching the drive for sale. I am glad that the device operates very quietly (the hard drive rustles when copying data). So you can install it near your work place and it will not disturb you.

In the box, along with the Central drive, buyers will receive a power supply and an Ethernet network patch cord (cable). The drive uses an external power supply for mains power, typical for external hard disks.

The device is equipped with three ports: an Ethernet port (RJ-45), a full-size USB 2.0 and a socket for a power supply. RJ-45 is used to connect to a router, and the second one is used to connect flash drives and USB hard drives. You cannot connect the drive to your computer directly. Such an opportunity, in my opinion, would not hurt, but the manufacturer decided otherwise.

You can connect the drive to a wired or wireless router. It looks like the drive is compatible with any routers. Ethernet works on maximum speed— 1 Gbit/s, so it is advisable to use the same fast router. If you plan to use remote data access, the router must have Internet access. If you use the drive within your local network, you can connect it to a router that does not have access to the World Wide Web.

There are no buttons on the drive body, so you don’t need to turn it on and off. When you connect the power supply, the device turns on automatically. And if it is connected to the network, it starts working in a minute. That is, in a minute all network and mobile device users have access to the data on the drive.

The smartphone and tablet are connected to the drive - the Seagate Media proprietary application is on their screens

The status of the drive can be found by indicator light: When turned on, it lights up in orange, and when the network drive is working, the light lights up in green.

When you connect the drive to the network for the first time, you need to configure it. Central will appear in the list of network devices. Yes, exactly as a network device, and not as a local drive, as happens when connecting external HDDs. You can work with it as an external drive in Explorer, but only through network. You can also connect the drive as a network drive, and it will be visible in Explorer along with other hard drives. In any case, you will have access to the folders and files stored on the drive through Explorer or Finder (if you use Mac OS X). By default, a Public folder is created into which you can upload data that will be open to everyone public access. In it you can perform all actions with files and directories, as well as on regular hard disk.

This is what the drive looks like Windows Explorer among network devices

You can connect the drive as a network drive...

.... and it will appear in Explorer among hard drives

If you connect a USB drive to Seagate, a special folder will appear

More storage options will be available to you when you register with Seagate. To make it easier for users to search desired page, the manufacturer carefully created a link file and recorded it on the drive. You need to create an administrator account that will control the operation of the drive. He will be able to create other accounts. Each registered user will have his own - not accessible to others - folder for confidential information.

The drive is managed via a browser

Network settings are set automatically, and the process initial setup drive takes about 10 minutes. In the future, a user with administrator rights will be able to adjust the settings. For example, to enable or disable individual services (for example, connecting devices via DNLA). You can also update the drive firmware, restore default settings while saving data, and make full reboot devices with loss of all settings and data. In addition, you can view the SMART status in the settings. It won't hurt, because it looks like special programs will not help to monitor the status of hard drives. CrystalDisk, for example, did not help.

Each registered user will be able to access the drive remotely via the Internet. For this, the tappin.com service is used, and the access page address is https://remoteaccess.tappin.com. In this mode you can use shared folder and your personal one. You can create directories and perform various operations on files. You can delete them, rename them, download them to your computer, and even post them on Facebook. There is also the ability to download files. There is a limit on the number of simultaneously downloaded files (up to 3) and a limit on the size of each file (up to 2 GB). The administrator also has the ability to “share” the data with others. As you can see, the list of actions is smaller than when accessing via a local network, and the speed will most likely be lower. However, you can easily throw beautiful photos from the beach of Thailand or a report from a business trip.

Remote access to files via browser

If you want to use the network storage for Reserve copy data from your computer, you need to download the Seagate Dashboard program. It is used to work with Seagate drives that have the same useful function. With Dashboard, you can create copies of your data on your Central hard drive. For users Windows program offers to protect the contents of the “Documents”, “Music”, “Images” and “Videos” folders, a copy of all user folders or a copy of all files from unexpected loss. You can also point Dashboard to any folder on your PC's hard drive. You should also indicate the frequency of updating the backup copy - constantly, hourly, once a day, week, month, or make a copy and update it only after the source data has changed. In addition, it is possible to create a copy of photos and videos from your account on Facebook and Flick or upload such content from the drive to Facebook, Flick and YouTube.

The Dashboard program is used to back up data on Seagate drives

Perhaps even more interesting is using Central as a wireless storage device for mobile devices. We tested the drive using samsung tablet Galaxy Tab 3 and smartphone Apple iPhone 4S and free proprietary Seagate Media software. You can view photos, videos, and play music on Central from your mobile devices only through Seagate Media. We described the program in detail in a review of another Seagate drive. Please note that the capabilities of the programs for different platforms are the same. Only some files that open on Android do not open on iOS. For example, the Galaxy Tab 3 played a 1080p rip of the Game of Thrones series, but the iPhone 4S did not.

This is not all the capabilities of the drive. It can also serve as a content storage for TVs and other equipment that supports the DNLA standard. You can store movies on the drive and watch them on your TV, just like with a NAS. In this case, you can use both wired and wireless connection- if the TV or media player has a Wi-Fi module.

The drive can work as movie storage for TVs (the manufacturer notes compatibility with Samsung Smart TV models)

As we have already noted, hard drive testing programs are not “recognized” by Seagate Central external HDD. Therefore, we were only able to test it in a simple way: by measuring the speed of data copying over the network. At the same time, we note that the speed of data exchange with the network drive directly depends on the speed of the network or Internet channel used. So the figures we obtained should be considered as approximate.

So, we tried copying various content to the drive. As a guide, we use the Game of Thrones series in Full HD quality (file size 5.28 GB). By Wi-Fi time copying is about 1 hour (approximately because we didn't wait), and wired is about 8 minutes. It turns out that a season of a series of 10 episodes must be copied to Seagate more than an hour. That's why it wouldn't hurt USB port 3.0 to download videos directly from your computer. True, this is in our busy office network. At home, where there is one or a couple of computers, the speed will be greater.

The speed of copying data over wires is higher than over Wi-Fi

Summary

Seagate Central combines large capacity (up to 4 TB), ease of use and rich functionality. Central will change the way you think about external drives. Is it possible to watch TV series on a tablet via Wi-Fi? Can. Want to upload photos from your European tour from Paris, Barcelona and Berlin? Easily! Need to regularly back up important files? You can trust Central to do this. External drives may envy the capabilities of this network drive. The only thing I still want is a USB 3.0 port for direct connection to computers.

And continues its march through apartments and offices. Everything is overshadowed by its rather high (especially in our country) price and the inadvisability of purchasing if you already have a router that suits you. What to do in this case? Seagate Central comes to the rescue.

At its core, Seagate Cental is a fairly simple and easy-to-use network storage device. Easy to install and virtually no configuration required - just the solution for non-professional users who decide to supplement their network with shared storage space (or for professionals who value their time).

Central is supplied in a white box sealed in plastic. This is a little out of the tradition of Seagate packaging that we are familiar with from other products, but it still looks good. My box was slightly damaged during transportation, but the disc inside was reliably protected, so it arrived safe and sound. In addition to the Central itself, you get a power supply with replaceable plugs and a small patch cord, so you have everything you need for connection right away.

The design of the Central is very impressive; it is very small (216 x 145 x 42 mm), comparable in size to traditional desktop hard drives. The front and back walls are made of non-staining plastic (how good it is that Segate abandoned the varnish gloss), the top is generally mesh to improve cooling. The shape is slightly beveled towards the corners, which makes the disc look unusual. The only standout elements that can be noted are the logo on the front panel, the LED in the near right corner and several connectors on the rear wall. There are only three of these connectors: power, gigabit Ethernet and USB for connection external drives. Solid weight (980 grams) and rubberized legs allow Central to stand confidently on a table or shelf without the risk of accidentally falling to the floor. Traditionally located on the lower surface serial number, model number and everything else Technical information.

Connecting the device is so simple that it can be done in a few minutes even by a person who does not understand anything about IT. You need to unpack the disk, connect it with the existing patch cord to your router and plug in the power supply. A blinking indicator will tell you that the drive has started connecting to the network, after about a minute it will end and the LED will light up steadily: your NAS is connected, you can proceed to configuration.

The drive will automatically appear in the list of connected devices (in OS X for sure, they promised to do it in Windows too, but we didn’t check), just click on it to log in. On the disk itself, in the Public folder, available by default, there is a file with a browser icon; opening it, you are taken to the web interface for setting up the disk. After you agree to the license, you will need to set the device name, administrator login and password, and remote access e-mail (more on this a little later). The disk is completely ready for use.

What can you do with it? Captain Obvious suggests that you can put files on it, as well as read and delete them from it. It is possible to create different user accounts protected by a password, each user will have their own folder, in addition, everyone has access to the Public folder.

Of course, this drive works great as storage for backup copies Time Machine, no worse than the built-in Time Capsule. For Windows users, the backup program that comes with the disc will be useful.

The fun begins when you upload multimedia files to disk. Firstly, Seagate Central is equipped with a special service that allows iTunes to recognize it as “native” and show files uploaded to it as an external library. If you have several Macs in the house, this is very convenient. Secondly, the drive is equipped with DLNA support, which allows you to access multimedia information from many devices and programs that support the standard. It also allows you to watch unconverted videos from iPad and iPhone. Thirdly, a special Seagate Media service allows you to use a mobile application to access the contents of the disk from the local network, and if you enable remote access, then from anywhere globe, which has the Internet. Applications that support this technology are available for iOS, Android and . Separately, Seagate notes support for Samsung Smart TV.

To demonstrate the capabilities, the disc contains a few examples of music, videos and photos, so you can immediately try it all out.

From small nice bonuses- automatic backup of photos from your account Facebook posts. It’s a pity that no other services are supported, but in any case there is a foundation for the future, and since Seagate firmware is updated regularly, maybe other sources will also be added.

If you find yourself somewhere unknown, but you need to access your files, a remote access service will come to the rescue. Just go to the address and enter your login password, a good web interface will open in which you can manage files. The same service will also help with remote access to files through the Seagate Media program for iOS.

We measured the speed of the disk by copying files to it and back. The write speed over the Internet is about 40 megabytes/s, the read speed is about 78 megabytes/s. Of course, this figure very much depends on your router and connection, and it is the Network, and not the disk, that is the bottleneck here.

USB connector on back side The drive allows you to connect external storage devices, including hard drives, so if you wish, you can easily increase your storage capacity even further.

To summarize, it must be said that the price for Seagate Central ranges somewhere from 5,000 rubles for the 2 TB version to 6,500 rubles. for 4 TB, 3 TB they cost about 6,000 rubles, which, even taking into account the purchase of a router, is noticeably cheaper than what they ask for a Time Capsule. In addition, you benefit from DLNA support and remote access via mobile applications and web interface.

Almost any modern NAS can easily cope with such important tasks, such as storing information, backing up data or working as multimedia center. But not every user is ready to administer their home local network, even if the drive has the most convenient and friendly interface for this. Sometimes you need a simpler device, but you don’t want to overpay for additional network capabilities.

The network interface is represented by the familiar RTL8211 model manufactured by Realtek Semiconductor. The soldering is very neat everywhere, and motherboard clean and has no traces of assembly, which indicates a high production culture.

⇡ Equipment

Seagate Central Package Contents

The new product comes in a small cardboard box, inside which, in addition to the device itself, we found the following accessories:

• network adapter with a non-removable power cable and two removable plugs of different standards,
• network cable,
• quick printed installation guide in different languages.

The set is minimal, but quite sufficient for full operation with the device. There is no CD included in the package, and the manufacturer offers to download the operating instructions and all the utilities necessary for operation from its official website.

⇡ Appearance and internal structure

Appearance Seagate Central

The appearance of the drive can hardly be called sophisticated, but the Seagate Central looks quite interesting. It is only slightly larger in size than a regular external drive with a 3.5-inch drive inside. Slightly curved sides made of smooth silver plastic and a wider bottom surface give the drive a little originality, but from the gray mass of others various devices it is distinguished by a fine metal mesh that covers the top and two side surfaces.

Seagate Central Front View

The mesh gives Seagate Central a similarity to portable speaker for some smartphone, or with a small subwoofer. Hidden under the mesh are numerous ventilation holes, which, together with the holes on the bottom surface, are designed to passive cooling hard drive. Seagate Central does not have a fan, and therefore such serious attention of developers to the cooling system is quite natural.

Bottom panel vents

Thanks to large rubber feet, the drive is positioned as stable as possible on a table or any other flat surface. But, unfortunately, it won’t be possible to place the device vertically.

Port panel

All the few connectors are located in the corner of one of the side panels. They are quite recessed into the body. If this is not important for the power connectors and RJ-45, then for the only USB port this means that some large flash drives cannot be connected to the device.

Reboot button

The drive has a single button located on the bottom surface of the case. This button is not used to control power, but to perform a forced reboot.

The Seagate Central drive is not intended for self-replacement disk. Its case is not quick-release and is not designed at all to be disassembled at home. But you don’t have to worry about whether the newly installed hard drive will heat up more than permissible. The disk model was chosen by the manufacturer, who himself had to check its compatibility with the device not only in terms of climatic indicators, but also from a hardware point of view.

Seagate Central Internals

Like an “adult” NAS, the Seagate Central case has a metal internal frame that gives the device additional rigidity. Only in in this case This frame is more reminiscent of a sled for a hard drive, especially since the frame only protrudes beyond the HDD on one side. Compared to other NAS, the motherboard of the new product is simply tiny. Just yesterday there were USB controllers for external drives of this size, but today these are the dimensions of a network drive.

To the assembly of the new product and its manufacturing quality components there are no comments. There are also no complaints about the soldering on the board. In general, the design and internal structure of Seagate Central evoke a pleasant feeling of reliability and quality, which does not come “included” with every device, even an expensive one.

Working with the device

Folders of the network storage device and the USB drive connected to it are open for public access

Despite the fact that the Seagate Central drive is intended primarily for less experienced users, its initial setup made us think a little and apply all our experience accumulated from working with various NAS. By default, a DHCP client is enabled in the drive settings, so when you connect to a router with a running DHCP server, Seagate Central automatically appears on the network. In Explorer or a file manager, several publicly accessible folders are immediately displayed. If a USB drive is connected to the device, then its file structure will also be publicly available. For beginners and those users who don’t want to tinker with the settings, it couldn’t be simpler.

Trying to open the web interface

But what user doesn’t want to check the device settings? When we found out the Seagate Central network address through the router's web interface and entered it in the appropriate line of the Internet browser, the drive responded cheerfully, but asked to enter a username and password. At the same time, no standard combinations like admin/admin are provided in this case, and the program itself hinted that if the password is forgotten, there is no one to contact “ system administrator" They say there is no point for any newbies to mess around with the settings! And she advised the administrator himself to use the reset button on the bottom panel of the Seagate Central case and a certain software package “Seagate Central Assistant”, the search for which did not yield any results, as did reading the operating instructions in Russian.

Registration procedure for installing Seagate Dashboard software

Working with Seagate Dashboard Backup Software

Only searching for answers on the Internet bore fruit. Users have already encountered this problem and found out that to register they need to use the Seagate Dashboard utility, which is designed to backup data, as described in the operating instructions. When installing from the manufacturer's website, this program asked to enter a new username and address Email. After installation, for a long time it was not possible to perform any actions with the drive, until finally the one specified during registration Mailbox the long-awaited letter with the offer to continue registration did not arrive. Some twenty minutes, useless flipping through the pages of the Seagate Dashboard utility and operating instructions, useless attempts to reset the password - and a miracle! Password received! Unfortunately, all this cannot be called a user-friendly installation interface, and even one that is easily understandable for a beginner. Let's hope that the developers from Seagate will take into account the negative user feedback about the registration procedure and correct the current situation.

Seagate Central web interface

We tested devices with the latest firmware version 2013.0726.0250-F at the time of writing. The Seagate Central web interface is completely Russified and quite easy to use, although it provides minimal amount. On home page The menu contains only links to recent operations, and unfortunately, there are no regulators or any of the usual NAS operation indicators familiar to users.

Seagate Central Settings

Settings via software package Seagate Central can be produced in a minimum quantity. You can update the firmware, set the date and time, configure network interface, as well as stop all current processes, restore default settings and delete all data from the built-in media.

The last operation is actually equivalent to formatting the hard drive. The developers did not provide for any other operations with disks. The user is only allowed to view basic information about the disk and find out its condition - conduct a S.M.A.R.T. test. Well, for external drives connected to the device’s USB port, only the option is provided safe shutdown and viewing brief information about his condition.

Connecting a new user

User settings are limited to the very ability to create a new user and assign simple access rights to him - administrator or guest. In order for each user to have remote access to drive files, you must specify an existing email address under their name and password. Setting quotas, choosing data access options and more fine adjustments Seagate Central does not provide this.

Connecting additional services

As for connected services, Seagate Central has four of them: DLNA server, access from mobile devices, remote access via the Internet and iTunes service. All of them are connected on the corresponding page of the web interface and do not have any additional settings. We can say that these are the four key features of the Seagate Central NAS that transform it from a simple network attached storage into a NAS with modern capabilities. By default, all services are enabled, so even if the owner is not Seagate Central additional settings via the web interface - he will still be able to take advantage of all the features of the new product.

The DLNA server allows you to streaming video on gaming consoles or video panels. The manufacturer especially highlights the device’s compatibility with Samsung TVs, working with Smart TV technology. The Seagate Media program is provided for them, thanks to which it is easier to work with the file structure of the drive, and the user can enjoy a beautifully designed graphical interface media data manager.

Seagate Media Program Interface

If you enable the feature for accessing data from mobile devices in the Seagate Central settings, you can begin installing the Seagate Media utility on your smartphone or tablet, which is available for free download through Play service Market for Android OS or via App service Store for iOS. The program is extremely easy to use and has virtually no settings, except for entering a name and password. This is a regular file manager with which you can watch movies and photos, as well as listen to music.

Working with the service remote access tappin

The remote access function is implemented using the Tappin Internet service. This service, like mobile Seagate utility Media is extremely easy to manage and does not require any settings. The only complaint we can make is the speed of its operation - it is clearly not enough to watch video files online. But if you want to look at photos or download some documents, then in this case you will certainly be satisfied with the capabilities of the remote access service.

Setting up Facebook Backup

For another Seagate Central function, which has not yet received our mention, the developers have highlighted in the web interface separate page. To be honest, it's not entirely clear why the humble ability to back up personal data from Facebook has received such honor. Even more strange is that, except with Facebook, this function is not available with any other social networks not compatible.

Of course, the Seagate Central software is not without flaws, but the functions implemented in it work quite stably. But what it lacks is at least the simplest download manager that works with torrent files. Considering the homemade nature of the new product, this is a clear omission on the part of the developers.

⇡ Testing

Testing was carried out with a standard 3.5-inch hard drive Seagate Pipeline HD ST2000VM003 with a capacity of 2000 GB. The disk spindle speed is 5900 rpm, and its cache memory is 64 MB. This disc is interesting because it is optimized for working with various players and video monitoring systems. The test bench for checking performance had the following configuration:

• processor AMD Athlon II X3 440 3.0 GHz,
• systemic ASRock board 890GM Pro3,
• RAM 4 GB DDR3-1333,
• ATI Radeon HD 4290 video adapter,
• SSD-drive Intel SSD 520 with a capacity of 240 GB,
• gigabit network adapter Atheros L1,
• OS Windows 7 Ultimate.

Benchmark SSD performance evaluation

The test bench's own read and write speeds were about 200 MB/s, so it will not limit the performance results of the network drive. A publicly accessible folder was created on the drive's disk, connected to the test bench OS as a network drive, after which testing was carried out using the ATTO Disk Benchmark and NAS Performance Tester programs, the results of which are presented below.

Seagate Central performance with services enabled

Seagate Central performance with services disabled

The results provide a clear picture of how Seagate Central's performance is affected by various additional services. If you disable them, the read speed increases on average by 8-10%, and the write speed by 10-12%. Particularly strong Negative influence performance is impacted by the remote access service. First of all, the drop in data exchange speed is associated precisely with its operation.

The drive's performance was also tested by sequentially transmitting packets consisting of files of different types: video (four VOB file 965 MB each), photo ( JPG files with a total volume of 655 MB), audio (MP3 files with a total volume of 775 MB), as well as saved Internet pages - various files Very small size(total file size 63.3 MB). The check was carried out with services disabled. The test results are presented in the histogram below.

Seagate Central Performance Test Histogram

The results obtained from the second stage of testing are in good agreement with the results of the first stage. In general, the performance of the new product cannot be called insufficient for home user. On the contrary, the reading speed is enough for several users to work simultaneously. The performance would be enough to simultaneously work with two or three torrent files, but this function, alas, has not yet been implemented in Seagate Central.

Serious advantages include the almost complete silence during operation of the drive. In this case, only the hard drive makes sounds, but even that is practically inaudible. At the same time, the metal mesh on top panel heats up slightly. Her Maximum temperature is around 30-35 °C.

⇡ NAS, non-NAS and competitors

The new product from Seagate is a representative of a new subclass of devices. On the one hand, this is an almost full-fledged NAS, the files of which are not only available to client computers in home network, but can also be distributed mobile devices through the Internet. The settings of the new drive can be accessed via a web interface, and thanks to the built-in DLNA server, it also claims to be a home entertainment center. Why not NAS?

On the other hand, today's guest of our test laboratory has greatly reduced network capabilities, does not work with a wide range of data exchange protocols, and does not solve the problems of secure access and data storage inherent in any network storage. The Seagate Central model is somewhere in the middle between full-featured NAS and regular external drives 3.5-inch form factor, which have almost sunk into oblivion.

You can argue about class affiliation for a long time, but it is unlikely to yield any fruit. Let's dwell on the fact that Seagate Central is still a NAS, but entry level. It is suitable for users who do not store particularly important information, the loss of which would lead to the collapse of their career or significant financial difficulties. Despite this, the Seagate Central itself is quite suitable as an easy-to-use backup device. In addition, it can be called a good option for organizing a multimedia home center if you have a TV with a DLNA client at home. But for the torrent client you will have to get something else, because Seagate Central will not be able to solve this problem.

Single-disk network drive Western Digital MyBookLive

Single-disk network drive Buffalo CloudStation CS-X

It should be noted that the simplified NAS from Seagate is not the only representative of its class of devices. Its most prominent competitors are the single-disk Western Digital MyBookLive and Buffalo CloudStation CS-X models. Although all of them differ in a number of their capabilities, they have similar characteristics and cost around 4-5 thousand rubles for a model with a 2 TB hard drive. So already now in the single-disk NAS class the user has, albeit a modest, choice. Well, if there is competition among manufacturers, then we should expect further development Software for Seagate Central. There, you see, a torrent client for it will appear...